Apple iPhone XR Is Still $94 Cheaper In US After Chinese Discounts

Retailers like Suning and JD.com are slashing prices by up to $118 on the iPhone XR, according to Reuters and Yahoo Finance. The deal required customers to trade in an iPhone 7 Plus, a high-end handset from two years earlier.

While this ugly sensor looks a far cry from Apple's usual, minimal design approach, the leak has been backed up by equally-reliable tipster Ice Universe (below), which suggests it's at least close to the real deal.

Apple reportedly plans to introduce three iPhone models this year, including a follow-up to the company's much debated iPhone XR.

There will also be replacements for the existing iPhone XS and, even though it hasn't sold as well as hoped, the LCD screen touting iPhone XR. According to the Nikkei Asian Review, Apple will cut down production for all of its iPhone by as much as 50 million units in the first quarter of this year. The iPhone XR's new price translates to $843, still $94 more expensive than it is in the US.

And in 2020, the Journalwrote, the company's entire lineup could have organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, displays, which are considered a step up from liquid crystal displays.

"We believe 2019 iPhone models are unlikely to involve significant upgrades" beyond those mentioned above, JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee wrote Friday, citing "feedback" from Apple suppliers. Now as we enter 2019, prices for the iPhone are also going down in China.

According to the publication, Apple has been developing a new LCD iPhone for several months and a switch would likely prove too costly. And with iPhone sales declining, you can be sure there will be a bunch of ridiculous rumours to build up hype for the next iPhones.